Lake County reports preliminary 92% graduation rate; CLT and night school credited for gains

Miss Frances Hells, a district staff member, gave the board a preliminary update on Lake County Schools’ 2024 four‑year graduation rate and said the official state figures were not yet published.

“The official rates have not come out from the state yet. We expect them any day,” Hells said. She reported an overall graduation rate of 92% for the 2024 school year (91.7% unrounded) and said the figure will count toward the district’s current school‑grade calculations once the state posts final data.

Hells explained the metric is an adjusted‑cohort four‑year rate. She described how students who transfer out of the district (to another district, private or home education, adult education, or another state) are removed from the cohort so the district’s rate reflects only students who remained in the adjusted cohort. She emphasized the rate is a “lag factor” that factors into this year’s school grades.

Hells and multiple board members focused on two operational factors that moved the rate upward: expanded use of the CLT (Classic Learning Test) as a concordant assessment that allows students to meet testing requirements, and a district night‑school program that Hells said helped dozens of students graduate. “The main increase in everybody across the board is the CLT,” Hells said, and she told the board she had asked schools to offer the CLT more often because the scores are “very attainable” as a concordant route to graduation.

Hells reviewed school‑level variation. She said Eustis High School’s rate lagged compared with most schools and cited frequent turnover in the school’s graduation facilitator and limited CLT administration there in the prior year. Hells said Eustis would have been about 89% if it had fewer certificate‑of‑completion outcomes and greater CLT participation. By contrast, Leesburg High School and some other campuses showed substantial jumps; Hells attributed that to broader CLT use and higher student engagement.

Hells described Lake County Virtual School’s volatility because of its small senior cohort: a handful of students moving on or off the roster can change the school’s percent substantially. She also said alternative programs such as Lincoln Park and Success (an alternative scheduling model) are being tracked differently by the state and will count for the district though they do not always receive a separate school grade.

On other drivers, Hells said the district has reduced the number of certificate‑of‑completion outcomes since CLT became available, and reported a modest rise in students moving to adult‑education programs. She said districtwide night school was responsible for at least 20 students per school that staff attributed to graduation in the last year, and that effort had a measurable effect on the overall cohort staying through senior year.

Board members asked Hells whether the district had monitored CLT administration across schools and whether night‑school participation differed at Eustis. Hells acknowledged she had not been tracking CLT offers at a school‑by‑school cadence early in the rollout and agreed to provide more specific monitoring numbers for Eustis and other campuses.

Hells closed by noting the 90% graduation goal Superintendent Kornegay has emphasized and that “this has been our gradual increase toward where we are today,” while urging continued focus on consistency across schools.

The board did not take a formal vote during the presentation; Hells’ update was informational.